For the American Fourth of July, I recommend this Preston Sturges film, starring Joel McRea in the title role and the lovely Veronica Lake as the girl. Look for Franklin Pangborn, Eric Blore, and William Demarest, too.
This is an interesting film for the Fourth; it's a story based on a successful director's unhappiness with his success, so he sets out to bum around America in a search for real life. The director, named Sullivan, plans on making a movie called "O Brother Where Art Thou," and if you've seen that movie (by the Coens), you'll recognize the chain gang scene in "Sullivan's Travels."
"Sullivan's Travels" could have been a typical "Common Man" movie of the Depression Era, but something brings it up a notch. McRea is excellent, and the script (by Sturges) refuses to show common men as noble brutes and stereotypes. I can see why the Coen Brothers called their insane take off of The Odyssey "O Brother Where Art Thou" and paid homage to "Sullivan's Travels." There never has been a Common Man.
As with "The Lady Eve," Sturges here is relentless in his comedy, but "Sullivan's Travels" has more of an edge as Sturges contrasts wealthy studio execs with working class stiffs in the real America. Naturally for Sullivan, everything that can go wrong does, he ends up in prison, then gets the girl. But pay attention. Sturges pays respect to the underclasses as few other directors did during the Thirties and early Forties.
If you want to see the glorification of the Common Man, watch Gary Cooper in "Meet John Doe" (or just about any other Frank Capra movie). If you want to see another Sturges movie and like screwball comedies, see "The Lady Eve" (reviewed here: http://www.spout.com/blogs/civex/archive/2009/5/18/42317.aspx) with Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck (and Blore and Demarest).